Director of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), Professor Peter Fricker, reflects on Institute highlights for 2009.

‘It’s time to look back on some memorable moments and outstanding achievements for past and present Australian Institute of Sport athletes and teams in 2009.

‘It was a stellar year for AIS athletes Emma Moffatt [triathlon], Jack Bobridge [under-23 cycling time trial], Anna Meares and Josephine Tomic [women’s team sprint cycling], Leigh Howard [men’s omnium cycling], and Nathan Outteridge and Ian Jensen [49er class sailing] who were all crowned world champions in 2009.

‘Brenton Rickard was also outstanding at the FINA World Swimming Championships in Rome, breaking the 100-metre breaststroke world record.

‘Other highlights and successes for AIS athletes and teams included:

• beach volleyball players Becchara Palmer and Louise Bawden claiming silver at the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Tour Women’s Open 
• the Australian Kookaburras men’s hockey team winning an incredible tenth ABN AMRO Hockey Champions Trophy
• Australia topping the medal tally at the UCI Track Cycling and Road World Championships with gold for Anna Meares [women’s team sprint], Josephine Tomic [women’s team sprint and women’s omnium], Leigh Howard [men’s omnium], Jack Bobridge [under-23 time trial] and ex-AIS athlete Cadel Evans [men’s road race]
• Paralympic swimmer Matthew Cowdrey setting multiple records at the 2009 Telstra Australian Short Course Championships 
• AIS divers winning nine medals in world series competition, including Sharleen Stratton’s gold in the 3-metre springboard
• three AIS squash players achieving top-100 world rankings, including Kasey Brown who reached a career-high ranking of 11 
• three AIS boxers being selected in the Oceania AIBA President’s Cup team 
• AIS archers finishing in the top ten at the world youth championships 
• AIS/Western Australian Institute of Sport gymnast Lauren Mitchell and AIS/New South Wales Institute of Sport gymnast Prashanth Sellathurai claiming two silver and one bronze at the world championships 
• the Australian team finishing second in the 2009 KFC World Cup of Softball and third in the Japan Cup
• the Australian team finishing fourth in the Women’s Cricket World Cup 
• Australia claiming two silver medals in the men’s coxless four and quad scull at the 2009 World Rowing Championships
• Australian Hockeyroos women’s hockey team winning second place in the Samsung Hockey Champions Trophy
• six of 13 current AIS team members and one former scholarship holder playing for the Australian team that won the under-21 World Youth Netball Championships
• six AIS basketball scholarship holders joining the Australian Boomers national squad that came fourth at the FIBA Under-19 World Championships for Men.

‘The AIS also continues to produce new promising sporting talent, such as Elizabeth Cambage [basketball], Jessica Fox [canoe slalom], Amy Steel [netball], Olivia Rogowska [tennis], Jack Bobridge [track endurance cycling] and Nathan Johnstone [winter sports].

‘Behind the Institute’s sporting successes are a team of experienced coaches and sport scientists dedicated to maximising the performance of elite athletes and teams.

‘The National Elite Sports Council conference in November proved highly successful in bringing together leading coaching and sports science experts to discuss the latest trends and issues at the sharp edge of sports research and innovation.

‘And, speaking of winning teams, this year the AIS announced an exciting partnership with 2XU as official supplier of the Institute’s high performance compression apparel. In addition, the AIS celebrated the renewal of its highly successful ten-year partnership with Nestlé, and extended its valuable partnership with the CSIRO [Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation], which will continue until June 2011.

‘The AIS recognises it needs to work smarter and better to remain internationally competitive. To this end, the AIS has been significantly transformed by an extensive organisational review and restructure in 2009, which is improving service delivery for Australia’s high performance sports through a nationally integrated and coordinated approach.

‘The AIS continues to work in close cooperation and harmony with its system partners: the national sporting organisations and state and territory institutes and academies of sport supporting high performance programs. The AIS also continues to play a lead role in training and preparing Australia’s athletes and coaches for the London 2012 Olympic Games and beyond.

‘We have continued to nurture the development of talented athletes in several non-Olympic sports, including the football codes of AFL and rugby league, as well as netball and cricket.

Tennis Australia delivered its first national draft camp at the AIS in 2009 to identify and develop Australia’s best young tennis talent. Also, the AIS’s European Training Centre, strategically based in Varese, Italy, has become a springboard for Australian athletes and teams competing in major sporting events in the Northern Hemisphere.

‘Meanwhile, Australia’s winter athletes are making final preparations for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. In the 2008-09 winter season our Paralympic alpine skiers won a remarkable 11 World Cup medals and three world championship medals.

‘Lydia Lassila and Jacqui Cooper, two of the world’s best aerial skiers, and skeleton athletes Michelle Steele and Emma Lincoln-Smith are among Australia’s strongest medal prospects for the Vancouver Games.

‘Many AIS athletes and coaches are also preparing for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. The AIS expects to again prepare a large contingent of the Australian team to contest at these Games.

‘All in all, we are moving confidently towards Vancouver, New Delhi and London with an eye on major competitions beyond 2012.’

Professor Peter Fricker OAM
Director Australian Institute of Sport